Besides 1995 there was a 16-day stretch in 2006, 13 in 2003, 11 in 1990 and 12 in 1989 and 1983. But iIn 1976 there were 22 days over 28°C – making it easily the hottest spell in living memory in the UK.

Met Office forecaster Lindsay Mears said: “They seem to say that it is going to go on into the weekend and early next week, but we don’t know at the moment whether it will break 1995’s 17 days to be perfectly honest about it. But it does seem to be carrying on so there’s a possibility that it could exceed the record.”

The heatwave has seen the Met Office issue a “level three heat health watch” for London and the South East and advise “alertness and readiness” for those in the North West and North East.

Level three warnings are only one notch below the most serious alerts and are put out when high temperatures place the very young, the very old and those with chronic diseases at risk.

For many, yesterday was the warmest day of the year, with temperatures reaching as high as 32°C (89.7°F) in parts of England and 30°C in parts of Wales.

Meanwhile, Ann Blanchard, 60, who with husband David co-owns Llandudno’s Oasis Hotel, has fond memories of the summer of 1976.

She was living on the Isle of Lewis, off Scotland’s west coast, with a former husband who was working in the area as an engineer.

Mrs Blanchard said: “I didn’t have a job so I spent days and days and days on the beach and it was wonderful. I remember all the families and all the kids. The islanders had never seen anything like it and they all used to come down to the beach with the kids. I remember it very, very fondly because it seemed to go on forever.”

Mrs Blanchard said the latest hot spell to hit the UK has brought the “best ever” period of business for the seafront North Wales hotel since she took over with her husband in 2005.

The 1976 heatwave began in June and peaked in July, with temperatures reaching record highs – many of which still stand.

The temperature reached 32°C every day from June 23 to July 7. The authorities issued tips to save water, including bathing with a friend.

So severe was the drought that crowds cheered at Lord’s when a few drops of rain stopped play for a quarter of an hour in mid-June.

The water supply in Yorkshire and East Anglia was replaced by communal standpipes in the street. Plymouth followed, with one pipe for every 20 houses.

Drought minister Denis Howell revealed he was saving water by jumping into the bath with his wife.

At Folly Farm, in Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire, marketing manager Zoe Wright said visitor numbers have surged by 15% since the start of July, while sales of ice creams and lollies are double what they were a year ago.

The farm includes a mix of undercover and open-air attractions like a vintage funfair and a zoo.

Mrs Wright, 37, said: “We have got the schoolchildren in at the moment. It’s a big school trip time for us.”

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